Arriving at a hotel only to find that the beautiful pool, relaxing spa, or well-stocked gym are all out of order can put a damper on your vacation. But you don’t have to just deal with the disappointment: the hotel may be willing to give you a room credit, or even an upgrade, to make up for lack of amenities — all you…

Hotel upgrades can be difficult to justify, especially if you spend most of your time out and about during trips. But if you can make the most of the perks that come with upgrading to a hotel's club floor, then the cost can be worth it.

A nicer room can make your trip a lot better and you can often get one by just asking. Travel+Leisure recommends checking in later in the day to increase your odds, when the hotel staff have a better idea of their room inventory for the night.

We recently covered how hotel's cancellation fee policies can help you get a room at a sold out hotel, but what about when you're the one trying to cancel the reservation? The Daily Beast recommends you simply call the hotel and ask them to move your reservation a few weeks ahead, then call back later to cancel.

Sometimes you want to stay at a certain hotel only to find out it is completely booked. Wendy Parrin at Conde Nast Traveler recommends finding out their cancellation policy and snagging a room that someone else lets go.

The folks over at Hipmunk have released some data from last year's Thanksgiving trip bookings for flights and hotels. Their advice from the findings: now is the time to book your trip for the cheapest flight.

Stuck at a hotel and don't want to use that tiny little drip coffee maker for a cup of joe? Instructables user Josh Campbell shows you how to make a French Press using stuff you'll find right in your room.

Whether you're stuck in a hotel for an extended stay or your dorm room just doesn't have any other options, your coffee maker is a surprisingly reasonable place to cook a meal or two. You actually have a bunch of options for meals in those coffee makers, but NPR breaks down the three basic cooking types that anyone…

Welcome, Lifehackers, to our next Hacker Challenge! Each week, we issue a new challenge. You get until Sunday to prepare your submission and send it to us. That gives you a few days to think about it and a whole weekend to work it up. Our editors pick the best submissions and our favorite will win a copy of the…

Call a hotel, ask for the cheapest room rate for a certain night, and your answer is some mix of voodoo and demand-based algorithms. Ask for the "corporate rate," or maybe the "cheapest nonrefundable rate," and the game changes.

If you thought a night in a hotel room meant either pizza delivery or overpriced room service, think again. In this video, British comedian George Egg demonstrates some hotel survival tips for cooking an impressive meal in your room.